Nguyễn Văn Dũng, Vice Chairman of the city People’s Committee, speaks at a workshop titled “Measures to Transform HCM City into a Major Service Hub of the Country and the Region with Premium, Modern, and High-Value-Added Services” held in HCM City on December 17. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Officials, experts, researchers, and scientists convened at a seminar in HCM City on December 17 to discuss strategies for transforming the city into a major service hub for the country and the region, focusing on premium, modern and high-value-added services.

Nguyễn Văn Dũng, Vice Chairman of the city People’s Committee, told the event that the services sector plays a pivotal role in the city’s socio-economic development.

By the end of 2023 the city’s economy was worth US$65.5 billion, or 15.5 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Within this, the service sector represented a significant and growing share, rising from 57.7 per cent in 2010 to 62.5 per cent in 2020 and 64.9 per cent in 2023, he said.

He noted that the city has developed services with strong potential and competitive advantages over other regions in the country, significantly contributing to local economic development.

This has enabled the city to maintain its position as the nation’s services hub and a key driver of the sector accounting for 30 per cent of the country’s total output.

But the development of services industries faces several challenges, he said, adding that comprehensive measures are required to foster them, particularly those with high value-added potential, to sustain the city’s role as the nation’s economic powerhouse.

Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said: “Looking at other fast-developing countries, especially those that started from a similar position as ours, we see that their service sectors have advanced significantly.

“However, they typically prioritise and concentrate their efforts on a maximum of three service industries.”

“The city’s service industries are striving to grow, but we lack thorough research to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each. This is essential to prioritise development and effectively leverage their potential.”

To address this, the city has tasked the Department of Industry and Trade with collaborating with relevant units to develop a project titled “Building HCM City into a Major Service Hub of the Nation and the Region with High-End, Modern, and High-Value-Added Service Industries”.

The initiative aims to accelerate the city’s socio-economic development.

The seminar served as the final platform to gather feedback from experts, researchers and stakeholders to refine practical, high-impact solutions that would enable the city to adopt decisive policies for targeted development, he said.

Discussions at the seminar focused on topics such as digital transformation and green growth as drivers of rapid, sustainable development, improving the quality of high-end, high-value-added services and restructuring service industries based on a knowledge economy, the application of science and technology, innovation, and high labour productivity.

Delegates explored solutions to maximise the city’s potential and advantages to create breakthroughs in future services development.

They also discussed strategies to mobilise and utilise resources effectively, foster regional connectivity and promote collaboration between HCM City and other provinces and cities for growing the services sector.

Dr Phạm Trọng Đạt of the University of Finance – Marketing highlighted the importance of financial policies in supporting the advancement of service industries.

He also emphasised that the city should invest in intangible assets related to digital transformation to support the growth of service sectors.

Delegates agreed that while the services sector is vital, the city should avoid an over-reliance on it at the expense of others.

In future, alongside focusing on strategic priority services industries such as logistics and finance, the city should also strengthen its industrial base, particularly high-tech manufacturing, they added. — VNS